Joan Crawford

After an absence of nearly two years from the screen, Crawford staged a remarkable comeback with Mildred Pierce (1945), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. In 1955, she became involved with the Pepsi-Cola Company through her marriage to president Alfred Steele. After his death in 1959, she was elected to fill his vacancy on the board of directors, but she was forcibly retired in 1973. She continued acting regularly through the 1960s, though her performances became fewer. After the release of the horror film Trog in 1970, she retired from the screen. Following a public appearance in 1974, after which unflattering photographs were published, Crawford withdrew from public life. She became reclusive until her death in 1977.

Crawford married four times. Her first three marriages ended in divorce; the last ended with the death of husband Al Steele. She adopted five children, one of whom was reclaimed by his birth mother. Her relationships with her two older children, Christina and Christopher, were acrimonious. Crawford disinherited the two, and after her death, Christina published the tell-all memoir Mommie Dearest. Petite at 5'3", with auburn hair and blue eyes, she had a slim build and real, natural breasts. She was Caucasian and American. She worked an incredible 50 years, from 1924 to 1974, starting around age 18. She was born on March 23, 1906, and died on May 10, 1977, at age 71.